Newborn Ideas by Older than Time
by Older than Time
Summary: A collection of small fics that have been swriling around in my head. Range from Elder Scrolls to Harry Potter as well as Naruto
1. Beast Hidden in Fire 1

_An answer to dracohalo117's FeralNaruto Challenge!_

_I was searching the site and found this challenge. I liked it and wanted to try it out. Here's just one chapter, making this a one-shot unless I get enough views for this. At least 50 views and 3 story alerts before adding more to it._

_I'm still figuring out a scene where both Team 7 and 8 are together. So here's Team 7 (Sakura, Kiba, Sasuke) being rescued first; Team 8 (Shino, Hinata, Takato [OC, dead, not significant]) will be saved next._

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><p><strong>Beast Hidden in Fire<strong>

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1<strong>_

"Kukuku…"

The chuckling snake was closing in on them. Sakura was crying over Kiba's downed form; Akamaru lay unconscious at his side. He had to stop him. He had to save them.

Sasuke closed his eyes and focused what little chakra he had left.

_Sharingan!_

The Uchiha opened his now crimson eyes, tomoe spinning like mad. He watched as the pale, snake-like man got closer, walking at a leisurely pace. Sasuke flew at him, throwing shuriken at wild abandon, praying to distract him long enough for Sakura to get Kiba and Akamaru out of here.

The bastard smirked and the shuriken were suddenly veering off course, embedding themselves in the foliage. Sasuke closed the distance between the two and threw as many taijutsu combos as he could.

Punch, _Missed_

Feint, Kick, _Blocked_

Duck, Leg Sweep, _Grabbed and thrown into a tree_

Nothing he did worked. As he lay there, the snake-man turned his attention to Sakura. She screamed and tried fighting back when he grabbed her hair. The snake just chuckled some more.

"I expected so much more of the Last Uchiha," he said. "Pity you aren't as talented as your brother." Sasuke surprisingly didn't care about the mention of his brother. All he could think about was saving Sakura from this man's clutches.

"And you're an even greater disappointment, girl," he smirked at the captive Sakura. Tears ran down her cheeks as he tightened his grip on her hair. "With all that power just waiting to come out, I expected a vicious counterattack."

Sasuke didn't understand what that man meant, but Sakura stopped struggling and turned deathly pale. She shook and trembled as she stared at the snake-man fearfully.

"So you are aware of your…gift," he whispered to her almost too quiet for Sasuke to make out. "Why don't you call upon that wondrous power, girl?"

Sakura shook her head as the tears ran harder than ever. Sasuke was torn at the sounds of her renewed pleas for help.

_Someone…help us…_

Sakura and Sasuke's prayers were answered when a red blur tackled the snake-man through two trees. The dust cloud obscured their view as Sasuke dragged his body to Kiba and the released Sakura. They could hear the roaring of some sort of animal as well as the curses the man was spewing.

The dust settled enough for them to see who, or rather, what rescued them. The snake-man was thrown out of the freshly made clearing by some sort of wolf!

The wolf was a bit larger than a normal wolf; its shoulders were as tall as Sasuke. Its fur was a burnt red, very dark, and very shaggy. It spiked around the shoulders and rear. Its tail was half the length of its body, fur spiked out near the end. The wolf's paws were odd; the rear paws were larger than they should have been, despite the wolf's abnormal size. The front paws were stranger still. They seemed like a pair of furred hands, with small claw-like nails.

The most unique features, however, were the eyes. They weren't the eyes of a wolf. They were the eyes of a human, bluer and deeper as the darkest depths of the sea.

The wolf's head slowly turned as it watched the surrounding forest, its nose twitching. It was obviously still searching for any more enemies, especially that man.

Satisfied that the man was gone, the wolf turned to observe the downed and exhausted Team 7. Sasuke was standing shakily on his feet, a kunai was held in a guard position. He watched wolf warily as it slowly approached them. Sakura was staring at it in wonder. Something about the wolf called to her. Kiba had woken and found the wolf staring right into his eyes.

_Fuck…that's a big wolf…_

The wolf's scent reached Kiba's nose. He immediately got to his knees and bowed as submissively as possible. The scent of an Alpha was so powerful that he had no choice but to submit. Sasuke stared at Kiba in bewilderment but decided to follow the mutt's example. He was too worn out to put up any sort of fight, especially against a strange wolf that took down someone that had beaten him so easily.

The wolf moved passed the bowing boys and nudged Sakura with its snout. Sakura grimaced at the wet feel. The wolf snorted as if it had smelled something too strong for its sensitive nose and backed off a good foot. It bowed its head at her and Sakura gasped as the wolf seemingly vanished; right in front of her eyes!

Team 7 stared at the spot the wolf once stood. In its place, lay an Earth Scroll; just the one they needed. They nodded dazedly at each other and took off to the Tower as fast as was safe.

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><p>…<em>sssshhhh…<em>

The red-haired Sand nin was impassively staring at his prey. His sand shifted and squirmed around him, blocking the incoming ninja tools and insect swarms. The other two Sand nin watched the fight, wincing at every near-miss the remainder of Team 8 suffered.

Shino dodged the incoming waves of sand quickly, silently thanking their sensei, Kurenai, for teaching them the abbreviated Body Flicker. Hinata's moved in similar patterns, dodging with minute uses of the abbreviated Body Flicker and hurling an occasional shuriken or kunai to find a weakness in the red-haired nin's defense. Poor Kaito-san had stumbled upon these Nin and was captured in the living sand before speaking a single word. Shino and Hinata tried to negotiate for their teammate, but the stoic redhead simply willed the sand to kill Kaito.

Shino and Hinata were horrified by the mercilessness displayed, but were quickly attacked by the redhead. Now they were trying to escape with no avail. They were completely on the defensive, unable to retreat and attacking had no effect.

Hinata's Jyuuken strikes temporarily rendered the sand inert, but it quickly recovered in less than a second. Shino tried to use his kikaichu to drain the chakra of the redhead's sand. But the chakra was too caustic for the beetles. The best Shino could figure, the chakra in the sand had a mind of its own and the chakra used seemed to be the embodiment of the desert itself.

"Hinata," Shino whispered to the Hyuuga. They had gained a momentary reprieve while the redhead was preoccupied with 'speaking' to his 'Mother'. "While I distract the Sand Nin, please retreat to the gate as fast as you can." She looked ready to argue when the Sand Nin attacked once more, screaming for their blood.

"GO!" Shino shouted at the trembling girl as he sent a wave of his kikaichu to meet the oncoming sand. Hinata's face was streaked with tears as she stood frozen. Shino's bugs were annihilated by the sand and they were both about to be consumed by it.

"N-no," she whispered as the sand slowly crept up their bodies. "S-someone…a-anyone…S-save…Us!" Her eyes shut tightly as she felt the sand tighten its grip painfully. And just as it got too much to bear, the sand was swept away and she felt like she was flying. Hinata opened her eyes and beheld a beautiful sight.

She was on the back of a dark red wolf, larger than any she'd ever seen! The wolf carrying a grey bundle in its mouth and was bursting through the forest at high speed, weaving left and right, over and under the trees. She held on tightly and sobbed in relief. Someone had saved her…

The wolf slowed, coming to a complete stop in a clearing near the center of the forest. Hinata got off the wolf and bowed deeply, thanking it as sincerely as possible. The wolf dropped his burden from his jaws, revealing the unmoving body of Shino.

"Shino-kun!" She got to her knees and checked the still figure. She was gladdened to find that he was merely unconscious. Hinata looked up to thank their savior once again to find the wolf a mere inch from her face. She gazed up into the too-human eyes gazing at her and was mesmerized by their endless blue depths. The wolf nuzzled her gently, taking her scent in deeply. Hinata giggled as the wet texture of the nose brushed against her neck.

Grasping its head tightly, she nuzzled against the wolf and whispered, "Thank you for rescuing us, Ookami-sama. I'm forever in your debt." The wolf pulled back and did the most amazing thing.

"You..welcome…flower…" It Spoke! It was very guttural and the words weren't exactly right, but the strange wolf actually spoke to her! Hinata's mind raced as she thought of all the possible explanations.

_A rogue summon, trapped in this plane?_

_An animal affected by the lingering chakra accumulated after years of exposure?_

_A lesser demon living in Konoha?_

The wolf whined softly as it smelled the growing fear emanate from the young girl. He nuzzled the wonderful smelling hair the girl had in an effort to calm her. The feel of the silky fur broke Hinata out of her reverie and she held back another giggled that threatened to escape her. There was no way this sweet and brave creature could be a demon.

"M-my ap-pologies, Ookami-sama…" she muttered into the wolf's ear, hugging his head slightly. The wolf gave a deep, rumbling growl that made her want to curl up and sleep her aches away.

The next morning, Shino awoke to find the redhead and his team gone and himself in an entirely different clearing. _'Hinata!'_ Shino leapt to his feet and looked around frantically to find his surviving teammate. There at the base of the tree slept Hinata; Shino would have let out a sigh of relief if it wasn't for the sight of what she rested on.

Shino stared into the glaring eyes of an enormous dark red wolf; its glaring tightened when Shino began to reach for his weapons pouch to pull out a kunai. He stopped immediately and the wolf to relaxed itself. The wolf jerked its head softly and snorted, indicating that Shino was to come closer. He complied slowly, taking measured steps toward the strange beast and his sleeping teammate.

'I must be swift. When I am in range, I will grab hold of Hinata and leap into the tree above. Once sufficiently high enough, I'll race straight to the tower as fast as I can. Hopefully this wolf can't climb trees…' Shino planned as he got closer to the wolf.

But before Shino within three feet of the pair, the wolf nudged Hinata, snorting to wake up the girl. Hinata awoke, dazedly rubbing her eyes and yawing cutely. She smiled kindly to the wolf and it nodded its head in his direction. Hinata's eyes caught sight of Shino and untangled herself from the wolf's fluffy tail.

"S-shino-k-kun," she muttered, hugging the stiff Aburame slightly. The wolf growled a bit, seeing the girl embrace the boy that smelled like a large hive of beetles.

_The flower girl was his!_

"I-I'm g-glad y-ou're alr-right," she stuttered. Shino titled his head at Hinata in acknowledgement, never taking his eyes off the glaring wolf.

"Where did that creature come from, Hinata?" he asked her quietly. The wolf still heard, since its ears twitched in their direction. The creature was obviously very intelligent, capable of understanding speech and sensing hostile intent.

"O-oh," Hinata said happily. Shino was mildly baffled by her change in mood. "Th-this is Ookami-sama," she said, still smiling sweetly at the wolf. It preened slightly, smug at the affection in Hinata's voice. "H-he saved us f-from the S-sand Nin yesterday." Shino's brow leapt up in disbelief.

'Saved them?' He thought incredulously. It seemed too good to be true. As he thought of the possibilities on the wolf's origin, Hinata walked back to the wolf and sat beside its head. She softly petted the wolf, scratching behind the ears and the scruff of the neck. The wolf's tail thumped in delight; this girl knew exactly where to find the most wonderful places!

"Hinata," Shino said to her. She stopped her ministrations and the wolf whined at Hinata but growled at Shino in protest. It was angry at the bug boy for stopping the girl's wondrous hands. "We only have two days to procure a Heaven Scroll from another team if we wish to pass this portion of the Chuunin Exam. While Kaito-san's death was a terrible happenstance, we must continue on. If we merely wait out the last two days, we risk being attacked for our scroll by other less powerful, but equally skilled teams similar to the Sand Genin. It is not likely that this wolf will deign to secure us a scroll whe new are not in danger"

Hinata nodded sullenly and was about to get up when the wolf growled. It got up and stuck its head into a nearby bush, procuring a tattered Heaven Scroll. It was slightly ripped at the ends and soaked in certain spots, but otherwise intact. He dropped the Scroll in Hinata's lap and laid his head next to her, whining softly. Shino was gob smacked, but Hinata giggled and gave the wolf a small peck on the forehead in thanks.

"S-see Shino-k-kun, Ookami-sama s-saved us again," She said smugly to the slack-jawed Aburame. She turned back to the happy wolf that she was till rubbing and scratching. "Ookami-sama, w-will you e-escort us to th-the tower? Please Ookami-sama?" she begged quietly. The wolf just snorted in agreement. He would gladly do that and more for the flower girl, just as long as he could get more scratches.

Minutes later, the two genin found themselves at the base of the tower in front of the doors they needed to enter. Both bowed in thanks to the wolf, Hinata stuttering, "Th-thank you once ag-gain, Ookami-sama. My debt to y-you has g-grown." The wolf, now going by Ookami, nodded and spoke once more, shocking Shino who had been unconscious the first time.

"…welcome…flower…" Ookami growled. He nudged up Hinata's left sleeve with his snout. Confused by Ookami's actions, Hinata held up the sleeve. She gasped as he nipped her forearm slightly drawing blood. Ookami licked the spot and Hinata felt a small surge of chakra from the bite.

The blood morphed into a red crescent moon. Hinata and Shino looked to Ookami for an explanation. The wolf growled and said,

"…mark…energy…call…" He struggled for a moment, but then continued. "…flower…call…I…come…fight…protect…" Hinata looked confused, but Shino 'ahhed' in understanding.

"Hinata, what Ookami-san means is that you just send a portion of your chakra to the mark and he shall come to you. Call for him when you need his aid and he shall give it." Hinata smiled in understanding and hugged Ookami's head tightly, nuzzling into his fur.

"Th-thank you for th-this gift, Ookami-sama. I-I am happy to call y-you friend." She said. Ookami growled happily and said in turn,

"Flower…friend…Ookami…happy…" He backed away from the two young Nin and growled as he turned away. "Safe…flower…call…fight…" Hinata got the message. 'Stay safe; call me when you need me.'

They bowed to the disappearing wolf and entered the tower.

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><p><em>And there's the first chapter of <em>_**Beast Hidden in Fire**__. Tell me what you guys think…_


	2. Hollowed Heart Preview

_Older than Time here with a new idea to try out. This is a Bleach/HP crossover featuring a Bipolar Harry with Espada-class powers in his 3__rd__ year. Deathly Hallows are unimportant so far and the soul fragment is negligible._

_Normal appearance (post-Dursley Slaughter):_

_A white and purple suit:_

_Pale-white long sleeved, button up shirt_

_Royal purple vest_

_Deep purple tie_

_White sports jacket with purple lining_

_Wand is now white with a purple engraving of a theatre mask on the handle. Hollow mask is covered with a white scarf with purple tassels. Wears scruffy, off-white fingerless gloves and grayish-white noble-style boots._

_He has two personalities with separate __**Resurreccions**__:_

_Descend into a spiral of never ending madness, (Chaotic Madness) – A bone-white Nightmare with armor trimmed in purple (SCIII –style) with a white and purple Phantom Soul Edge as released Zanpakutou._

_A method for this insanity, (Ordered Madness) – A tattered, bone-white tuxedo and gloves with an overly large top hat. The mask is missing the top part, leaving only the jaw and lower covering intact. A jagged claymore with a purple Soul Edge eye in the middle of the hilt as a jewel serves as a released Zanpakutou._

_Please enjoy and review; if wanting to adopt or use idea yourself, please PM me on my profile._

_Disclaimer (for posterity): I don't own Bleach or HP._

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><p><em><strong>Hollowed Heart<strong>_

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><p>A yell of "Potter, stop that racket!" came from a walrus-like man downstairs. Said boy sighed in frustration as he glowered at his owl, Hedwig. She had been keening loudly because she was confined to her cage since the start of summer, almost two months ago.<p>

Harry fed Hedwig a few owl treats not covered in mold and glanced around the tiny bedroom that had been his home for the last two and a half years. There in the corner, sat a 1 ½ meter tall glass mirror: it sported a single large crack diagonal from top to bottom. In it he could see himself; a scrawny boy wearing clothes two sizes too big with round glasses and messy jet-black hair. The boy was unremarkable in most ways, except for two.

The first was a thin scar on his forehead shaped like lightning bolt. It was always a pale red, seemingly unhealed despite the fact that he had it since he was one. Harry roughly flattened his fringe in order to hide the accursed thing; prior to his eleventh birthday, Harry had liked the scar. It made him unique and was a link to the parents he never knew. Nowadays he just tried to hide it, for it signified his miraculous survival despite the effort of the man who murdered his parents, right before he tried to kill him.

The second remarkable thing about Harry Potter was an impossible thing to the rest of the normal world; he was a wizard. That's right; Harry Potter was a boy capable of unimaginable feats of magic with a flick of a wand, provided he finished his schooling first.

It was 7:30 pm and the sun was set in Privet Drive, Surrey. Harry was having a rather unpleasant dinner with his guardians, the Dursleys, and his Aunt Marge, Mr. Dursley's obese sister. Harry's aunt, Petunia Dursley, was the elder sister of his mother. Aunt Petunia was married to Vernon, an obese, walrus-like man. Their son, a piggy blonde named Dudley scarfed down his large portion of dinner with disgusting gusto and horrid table manners; Harry got blamed for the mess.

Aunt Marge on the other hand, was a whole 'nother kettle of fish. She was a horridly rude woman that raised dogs and only visited every few years. But every time she visited, Harry's life became particularly nasty. Her favorite dog, Ripper, liked to bite and chase Harry while she goaded it on; if he evaded Ripper too well, she would reprimand him sometimes but she mostly struck him harshly.

Tonight they were having a large farewell dinner and Marge was particularly insulting. Since she was leaving the next morning, she felt as if she had to utterly destroy anything and everything that could conceivably make Harry's life any better.

Currently, she was making very _specific _comments on the lives of his late parents when Harry finally snapped.

_The silverware rattled and the house shook; the windows would snap open and shut sharply. The dining room table split in half and the food flew around the room at high speeds. The Dursley familt was lifted and held to the ceiling by an unknown force._

_The Dursley's knew what was going on, but were too frightened to say, or do, anything. Harry was slowly sharpening a cleaver that was left on the countertop as Marge was seemingly petrified in her chair. Her body was rigged and unmoving; her face however was another story._

"Stop this at once boy! Vernon, call the Bobbies! The boy has gone crazy!" _she screamed as Harry slowly paced around her, playing with the cleaver idly. Harry's face was horrifying; he had a psychotic grin on his face that would have made the Joker wet himself in fear. The formerly emerald eyes were the worse. The sclera had darkened to a pitch-black and the irises had turned a sickly yellow._

_But worst of all was the strange mask that was forming on the lower left side of the boy's face. It was white and seemed to be made of bone; the half that was formed took the shape of a boney set of sharp fangs that currently covered his half nose and spread down to past his neck. It circled around to the back of his head, encasing his neck as well._

_Harry stopped to Marge's right as he let out a maniacal laugh that echoed as if they were in a vast room, not a small kitchen. He then lifted the shiny, and now sharpened, cleaver high above his head. His eyes glowed bright yellow and the cleaver was brought down with frightening accuracy; he had chopped off Marge's right hand. But something was wrong; there was no blood coming out, but Marge was obviously in great pain._

_She was shrieking in agony as the severed hand joined the flying food around the pair. Harry began to sing a macabre song tonelessly under his breath, something about dancing in a rain of flesh and gore. The Dursley family on the ceiling could only watch in horror as Harry started to dance along with his horrible song; he was emphasizing each verse with a cleaving chop that severed another piece of Marge from the rest of her body._

_After what seemed to be an eternity, the insane boy was spinning madly in place, arms flinging about and cleaver dancing in his right hand. There was nothing left that could be identified of Marge; her entire body had been reduced to small, bite-sized chunks that flew around the spinning boy. The pieces would fling droplets of blood everywhere, drenching both the Dursley's and Harry himself._

_The mask had fully formed, covering the lower half of the boy's face and a good portion of his chest and upper back. It was comprised of interlocking plates of bone and the mouth had a full set of two inch long teeth. At first, they believed it to be an unmoving mask; but they were soon proven wrong._

_Harry suddenly sank to his knees; the teeth separated and he let out an insane laugh that spoke of savage joy and unrelenting bloodlust. He turned his attention to them as his maniacal laughter quieted into a dark, foreboding chuckle._

_Marge was just the appetizer; they were the main course._

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><p><em>Ok, that's what I have so far. If you hadn't guessed, I gave Harry Tia Harribel's mask. I always thought it was an awesome design and had so much potential when used as a base for other, different <em>_**Resurreccions**__…_


	3. A Speck of White in a Sea of Black

_Sorry this ain't an update for my big stories; it's just another idea that hit me…_

_Anyways, this is an Assassin's Creed/Harry Potter Crossover idea that just popped into my head. The setting and plot is a little convoluted at the moment but I hope someone can make it great in their own way._

_So here it is…_

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><p><em><strong>A Speck of White in a Sea of Black<strong>_

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><p><em>It was fine night; the sky was starry and the air had just enough chill. Hogwarts was welcoming a new batch of students; eager young minds just waiting to discover what wonders awaited them inside the magical castle.<em>

_The Great Hall was filled with students, ghosts, and teachers; the room filled with whispers and hopeful faces as the new first years began to be Sorted. The small group of children in the traditional black robes of Hogwarts seemed to shrink in on themselves as another one of them headed up to be Sorted._

_One by one they went up as they were called by the stern witch; they put on the Sorting Hat and were placed into a House all their own, a family to help you in times of need and distress; another place to call home._

_Gryffindor, House of the Brave and the Bold; Lions Roar, Proud and Loud_

_Ravenclaw, House of Wit Beyond Measure; Ravens Soar, Above and Beyond_

_Hufflepuff, House of Hard Work and Humility; Badgers March, Side by Side_

_Slytherin, House of Cunning and Ambition; Snakes Whisper, Waiting and Watching_

_This year was special; a lost son was returning to the world he saved. The Headmaster was eager to see the young one, the staff ready to impart their knowledge upon him, and the students awaited his presence. But he was nowhere to be found._

_Soon the stern witch called his name; she called him again._

"Harry Potter?…Harry Potter?…" _she asked, sadness growing with each call; the Headmaster was heartbroken, the staff sad, and the students confused._

_But the hero arrived; robed in white and face cowled in shadow, he strode silently between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. While the stern witch stood stunned, he sat on the stool and placed the Hat on his head; cowl still in place._

_Minutes passed as the Hall waited with bated breath; where would he go? It must be to Gryffindor, Bold and Good; where else would the Hero go? But maybe he would be in Hufflepuff, Humble and Kind; what else could a Hero be? Or it could be to Ravenclaw, Witty and Aloof; for a Hero must be the smartest of us all… But never to Slytherin, Cunning and Shadowed; would a Hero hide in the dark whilst the world is bathed in light?_

_The minutes grew long and their eyes grew heavy; difficult it must be for the Hero to choose any of the good three…_

_But something changed; the Sorting Hat spoke. It cried out the House where the Hero would go. The Hall was silent; stunned and unhearing…_

_The Hero walked on; above the growing whispers and the betrayed stares. Down he sat, among the silver and green; loud the Serpents shouted, glorious in green._

_The Headmaster sat slouched; his plans were for naught. What had become of the Hero he sought; what had caused the turn to the dark…_

_The Hero planned, shrouded in white; the Hero lay in bed, ready to strike. He remembered the villain and the followers he had; he was in the House of their children, they slept in their beds. The Hero had plans and the darkness to stave; The Hero was ready, the light to save…_

_Ready to sleep, eager for the morning; the Hero spoke the Creed in prayer…_

**_Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent..._**

**_Hide in plain sight, be one with the crowd..._**

**_Never compromise the Brotherhood..._**

**_Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted..._**

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><p><em>And that's the idea I have so far…<em>


	4. Beast Hidden in Fire 2

_Hey, chapter two of **Beast Hidden in Fire **is now up and running. I hope you all will enjoy this story._

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><p><strong>Beast Hidden in Fire<strong>

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><p>"Flower…friend…Ookami…happy…" He backed away from the two young Nin and growled as he turned away. "Safe…flower…call…fight…" Hinata got the message. 'Stay safe; call me when you need me.'<p>

They bowed to the disappearing wolf and entered the tower.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2<strong>_

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><p>Shino and Hinata sat with their jounin sensei, Kurenai Yuuhi. They were in one of the tower guest quarters as they told Kurenai what had happened to Kaito.<p>

"…and then we opened the scrolls and you appeared, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata finished. Shino nodded when Kurenai looked at him for confirmation. The news that her two students were saved by a strange wolf large enough to be a summon creature that was capable of rudimentary speech was amazing.

Kurenai was then shown the tattoo received by Hinata for further proof of their ordeal. "Alright," she said. "I'll report this to Hokage-sama and inform Kaito's guardian about what happened." As she left exit the room, she turned back to Hinata and said, "Try not to summon 'Ookami' until I get the Hokage to check out this incident. He might actually be a lesser, but benign, demon. You don't want to make deals or promises you'll never be able to keep, Hinata."

The woman left the two to their thoughts and proceeded to Shunshin to the Hokage Tower as fast as she could.

"That is mildly disturbing news, Kurenai." The Hokage said, puffing on his pipe slowly. She was standing beside Kakashi, who had also reported that his team was too saved by this wolf. "If Hinata has gained the alliance of this 'wolf', then do not worry. I am aware of this creature's existence and presence in Training Ground 44. It is mostly benign; the only exceptions are the occasional rogue nin running into it. We keep the civilians ignorant of the beast and the wolf protects the young genin of Konoha every so often, depending on its mood." Kakashi was visibly relieved at the news, but Kurenai still worried.

"But Hokage-sama, is this wolf a demon, or some sort of rogue summon? There are stories of the near-wildness of Sakumo Hatake's own summons, which were wolves as well. Could this be a rogue of that summon clan?" she pressed. Kurenai worried immensely over Hinata since her father, Hiashi Hyuuga, thought very little of her safety; he only worried for the potential loss of her Byakugan at the hands of an enemy nin.

"No, there is no chance of that, Kurenai," the Hokage replied calmly. "I know how it came to be and where it came from. Just know that it was once human and became what it is now through the arrogance and ignorance of man. He only protects those he considers allies or friends. And to my knowledge, only Hinata and I can say that we are friends of Ookami; the village as a whole, however, is a tenuous ally at best." Temporarily satisfied, Kurenai left to meet up with Shino and Hinata for Kaito's preliminary funeral ceremony.

The next day brought about the gathering of the surviving genin in the main hall of the Tower. Only seven teams had made it.

"The Hokage stood before them, giving a speech on the history of the Chuunin Exams; in short, they were a replacement for war. Then a sickly jounin, Gekkou Hayate, appeared and announced the start of the preliminaries due to the large number of genin still in the running. The preliminaries were a series of one-on-one fights between the genin announced by a large screen above two giant stone hands forming the ram seal.

The matches were in this order:

_Sasuke Uchiha (winner) vs. Yoroi Akido_

_Shikamaru Nara (winner) vs. Kin Tsuchi_

_Shino Aburame (winner) vs. Zaku Abumi_

_Kankuro (winner) vs. Misumi_

_Sakura Haruno vs. Ino Yamanaka (tie)_

_Temari (winner) vs. Tenten_

_Dosu (winner) vs. Kiba_

_Rock Lee vs. Gaara (winner)_

_Chouji (bye)_

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><p><em><span>Current fight:<span>_

_Neji Hyuuga vs. Hinata Hyuuga_

Hinata stood opposite of her older cousin, Neji; he was glaring coldly at her. She could feel the hate rolling off of him. Up in the stands, Neji's sensei, Maito Gai, watched worriedly. He hoped that Neji wouldn't let his anger cloud his judgment and lose control.

Kurenai and Shino were worried as well and Gai's nervousness did nothing to calm them.

"Hajime!" Hayate declared, starting the fight. Neji went on a fate spiel, denouncing Hinata and demanding that she quit before she was ahead. Hinata wasn't going to back down, though.

"I-I will not r-run away, N-neji-niisan!" she declared and charged toward the angry boy. Neji scoffed at the girl and settled into the same Jyuuken stance Hinata was using. They traded deadly blows, each one able to disable and even incapacitate at the slightest touch.

"What the hell are they doing, Kakashi-sensei?" came from the confused Kiba Inuzuka. Kakashi glanced minutely at the dog-nin and sighed.

"They're members of the Hyuuga Clan, Kiba," Kakashi explained. "Due to their doujutsu, the Byakugan, Neji and Hinata can see the chakra network as well as the tenketsu, or chakra point, within you. Their entire fighting style is based upon them seeing and attacking this system. They can stop your chakra flow, and possibly even kill you, with the smallest of blows."

Kiba nodded mutely, along with the rest of the ignorant genin. They never expected the shy girl from class to know such a deadly style. Down on the ground, Hinata was trying her best to land a decisive blow against the more experience, and vastly more skilled, Hyuuga when Neji grabbed her right arm.

"It is pointless to continue, Hinata-sama." Neji rolled up her right sleeve and Hinata gasped. Her arm was riddled with painful red spots. "I have sealed the tenketsu of your right arm and have done the same to you left. I can also see that you are running low on chakra. Face the facts, Hinata-sama; you have already lost.

Hinata tore away and stood dejectedly, she literally had no chance from the start. Up in the stands, the rest of the Rookies were shouting words of encouragement. Well, most of them were; Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Shino were merely watching the fight intently. They mainly glared at Neji since every one of the Rookies liked Hinata. She was nice, quiet and always helpful; they couldn't comprehend anyone hating her.

"Do not pity yourself, Hinata-sama," Neji mocked, returning to his spiel on fate. "You were never a challenge and will forever be a weakling bound to the path fate set for you. There was no point in fighting. Return the rest of those losers you call comrades and let those fated to succeed go on to the Third Exam."

Hinata's hands clenched tightly as she slowly nudged the tenketsu to the mark on her left arm open. She had only one chance and it was while Neji had his Byakugan inactive that she could do this.

"After all, I am hailed as the once-in-a-lifetime genius of the Hyuuga, while you are the disgraced heiress of the Clan." At that, Hinata sent a wave of chakra through her left arm that released all the tennketsu there, painfully. Neji reacted and activated his Byakugan as Hinata grasped the mark with her right hand.

She forced as much chakra as she could into the mark itself, shouting, "Summoning Jutsu: Ookami!" A giant cloud of smoke enveloped the girl; it obscured Neji's, and everone else's, vision due to the chakra-ladened haze created. Slowly the smoke cleared, revealing Hinata standing next to a huge, dark red wolf.

_Ookami had taken the field and he was ready to kick ass…_

"Whoa!" cried most of the Rookies. They couldn't believe Hinata knew how to summon! Team 7 were amazed to see the wolf that saved them was actually Hinata's summon. Kurenai glanced worriedly at the Hokage who merely nodded at her calmly. He signaled her using Konoha sign language that he had everything under control. Kakashi was surprised that Hinata had managed to summon 'Ookami' since he could see the sheer amount of chakra it had. It would have taken him all his chakra to summon the wolf if he was able to.

"M-my apolog-gies, Ookami-sama," Hinata said, bowing slightly. "I-I need y-your help to defeat m-my cousin Neji." Ookami growled kindly, he could see that the flower-girl was in pain and the girl-boy in front of them was the cause.

"…flower…hurt…" he growled out, freaking out the various nin; Team 7 especially, they hadn't known that he could talk! "…girl-boy…hurt…flower…fight…win…stay…" Hinata nodded in thanks, lightly rubbing his bowed head.

Neji, on the other hand, was baffled and angry. Where had that weakling gotten a summon contract? And why did she have it at all? She was a disgrace to ninja! "Hey, where did you get a summon contract? You must have ordered a branch member to give it to you!" he shouted.

Hinata looked very hurt which made Ookami growl even louder. No one could hurt flower-girl, especially the girly-boy. "…girl-boy…dies…" he growled and charged at Neji, snarling angrily. Hinata reached to try and stop him, but ended up being dragged along with him. Neji leapt back in an attempt to dodge the enraged wolf, but was captured by the powerful jaws.

The audience was stunned. In less than a second, the wolf had turned the tables on Neji. Neji's chest was captured in the giant wolf's jaws, which threatened to tear him in half at any moment. Hinata recovered from the whiplash she received from the lunging wolf and saw what was going on.

"N-no Ookami-sama! P-please don't k-kill Neji-niisan!" she begged, tugging on the wolf's leg. Ookami growled, tightening his hold on the cowering boy. Hinata whimpered and tugged at the angry wolf pitifully. Ookami could smell the tears threatening to fall. He glared at the boy in his jaws and carfully growled out a demand.

"…quit…live…fight…die…girl-boy…" he said, though slightly muffled. The frightened Neji nodded frantically as the jaws tightened with every word. Ookami, however, growled louder even as Hinata tugged harder and harder on his leg. "…speak…live…" Neji looked rebellious for a moment until the jaws were exceptionally tight.

"F-fine!" Neji screamed just as the fangs started drawing blood. "I surrender!" The rookies were cheering loudly as Hinata gave a final tug and Ookami let Neji loose. The slightly chewed boy fell with thud as he glared hatefully at Hinata and the wolf. Ookami just opened his jaws again, threatening to eat him. His glare faded as his face paled dramatically; Neji scurried up to the crowd of genin that failed to pass.

Hinata was now leaning against Ookami's side, panting from the effort of trying to drag the wolf off of her misguided cousin. She went and joined the winners and Ookami trailed behind her, smug from the victory. The other Rookies that passed congratulated Hinata, but gave her a good bit a distance due to the glare that Ookami gave each of them. As far as he was concerned, each of them was a potential threat. After all, if the girl-boy was a litter mate, then her pack mates could just be as guilty as he was.

The Hokage was starting to speak. "I wish to congratulate the winners of the preliminaries; each one of you showed skill, insight and determination that pulled you through the Second Exam and has ensured your place in the Third Exam were you will showcase your skills and talent before a grand audience at the Arena of the Falling Leaf." The Hokage coughed a bit and Hayate took over.

"_*cough*_ Alright, the nine winners will compete in one month at the main stadium to allow a period of _*cough* _training for some new surprises for both your opponents and allow the spectators to gather. The coming month is a period of zero-tolerance _*cough*_for matches between contestants and will result in immediate disqualification _*cough* _and detainment within the village." Hayate bowed out as the Hokage dismissed the contestants who were escorted out of the training ground and back to the village.

* * *

><p><em>Yay! I did pretty well I think with embracing Hinata's shyness and general personality. Tell me what you think…<em>


	5. Hollowed Heart Editted

_Older than Time here with a new idea to try out. This is a Bleach/HP crossover featuring a Tri-polar Harry with Espada-class powers in his 3__rd__ year. Deathly Hallows are unimportant so far and the soul fragments are negligible._

_Normal appearance (post-Dursley Slaughter):_

_A white and purple suit:_

_Pale-white long sleeved, button up shirt_

_Royal purple vest_

_Deep purple tie_

_White dinner jacket with purple lining_

_Wand is now white with a carving of two theatre masks on the handle (the laughing and crying masks). Hollow mask is covered with a white scarf with purple tassels. Wears scruffy, off-white fingerless gloves and grayish-white medieval noble-style boots._

_He has three personalities with separate __**Resurreccions**__:_

_**Descend into a spiral of never ending madness, Nightmare** (Chaotic Madness) – A bone-white Nightmare with armor trimmed in purple (SCIII –style) with a white, purple, and grey Phantom Soul Edge as released Zanpakutou. The flesh on his monstrous arm is white as well, only more of an albino-white color._

_**My methods for your madness, Jabberwock** (Ordered Madness) – A tattered, bone-white tuxedo and gloves with an overly large top hat with Soul Edge's eye glaring out of a rip in the hat. The mask is missing the top jaw, leaving only the lower jaw and lower covering intact. His Zanpakutou is a white Blunderbuss. It has purple runes on the stock recite the poem from Alice in Wonderland that introduces the Jabberwocky._

**_Shine with Ephemereal Light, Emerald _**_(Neutral Madness) - His outfit is his default one, but now has an emerald-tint visor with gold rims like Tousen's white pair._

* * *

><p><em>"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!<br>The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!  
>Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun<br>The frumious Bandersnatch!_

_He took his vorpal sword in hand:_  
><em>Long time the manxome foe he sought-<em>  
><em>So rested he by the Tumtum tree,<em>  
><em>And stood awhile in thought.<em>

_And as in uffish thought he stood,_  
><em>The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,<em>  
><em>Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,<em>  
><em>And burbled as it came!<em>

_One, two! One, two! and through and through_  
><em>The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!<em>  
><em>He left it dead, and with its head<em>  
><em>He went galumphing back."<em>

* * *

><p><em>Please enjoy and review; if wanting to adopt or use idea yourself, please PM me on my profile.<em>

_Disclaimer (for posterity): I don't own Bleach or HP._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hollowed Heart<strong>_

A yell of "Potter, stop that racket!" came from a walrus-like man downstairs. Said boy sighed in frustration as he glowered at his owl, Hedwig. She had been keening loudly because she was confined to her cage since the start of summer, almost two months ago.

Harry fed Hedwig a few owl treats not covered in mold and glanced around the tiny bedroom that had been his home for the last two and a half years. There in the corner, sat a 1 ½ meter tall glass mirror: it sported a single large crack diagonal from top to bottom. In it he could see himself; a scrawny boy wearing clothes two sizes too big with round glasses and messy jet-black hair. The boy was unremarkable in most ways, except for two.

The first was a thin scar on his forehead shaped like lightning bolt. It was always a pale red, seemingly unhealed despite the fact that he had it since he was one. Harry roughly flattened his fringe in order to hide the accursed thing; prior to his eleventh birthday, Harry had liked the scar. It made him unique and was a link to the parents he never knew. Nowadays he just tried to hide it, for it signified his miraculous survival despite the effort of the man who murdered his parents, right before he tried to kill him.

The second remarkable thing about Harry Potter was an impossible thing to the rest of the normal world; he was a wizard. That's right; Harry Potter was a boy capable of unimaginable feats of magic with a flick of a wand, provided he finished his schooling first.

It was currently nearing summer vacation before his third year at Hogwarts and he was dying as the days dragged slower than he could believe.

* * *

><p>It was 9:30 pm and the sun was set in Privet Drive, Surrey. Harry was having a rather unpleasant dinner with his guardians, the Dursleys, and his Aunt Marge, Mr. Dursley's extremely obese sister. Harry's aunt, Petunia Dursley, was the elder sister of his mother. Aunt Petunia was married to Vernon, an extremely obese, walrus-like man. Their son, a piggy blonde named Dudley scarfed down his large portion of dinner with disgusting gusto and horrid table manners; Harry got blamed for the mess.<p>

Aunt Marge on the other hand, was a whole 'nother kettle of fish. She was a horridly rude woman that raised dogs and only visited every few years. But every time she visited, Harry's life became particularly nasty. Her favorite dog, Ripper, liked to bite and chase Harry while she goaded it on; if he evaded Ripper too well, she would reprimand him sharply, but she mostly struck him harshly.

Tonight they were having a large farewell dinner and Marge was particularly insulting. Since she was leaving the next morning, she felt as if she had to utterly destroy anything and everything that could conceivably make Harry's life any better.

Currently, she was making very _specific _comments on the lives and activities of his late parents when Harry finally snapped.

_The silverware rattled and the house shook; the windows would snap open and shut sharply. The dining room table split in half and the food flew around the room at high speeds. The Dursley family was lifted and held to the ceiling by an unknown force._

_The Dursley's knew what was going on, but were too frightened to say, or do, anything. Harry was slowly sharpening a cleaver that was left on the countertop as Marge was seemingly petrified in her chair. Her body was rigged and unmoving; her face however was another story._

"Stop this at once boy! Vernon, call the Bobbies! The boy has gone crazy!" _she screamed as Harry slowly paced around her, playing with the cleaver idly. Harry's face was horrifying; he had a psychotic grin on his face that would have made the Joker wet himself in fear. The formerly emerald eyes were the worse. The sclera had darkened to a pitch-black and the irises had turned a sickly yellow._

_But worst of all was the strange mask that was forming on the lower left side of the boy's face. It was white and seemed to be made of bone; the half that was formed took the shape of a boney set of sharp fangs that currently covered his half nose and spread down to past his neck. It circled around to the back of his head, encasing his neck as well._

_Harry stopped to Marge's right as he let out a maniacal laugh that echoed as if they were in a vast room, not a small kitchen. He then lifted the shiny, and now sharpened, cleaver high above his head. His eyes glowed bright yellow and the cleaver was brought down with frightening accuracy; he had chopped off Marge's right hand. But something was wrong; there was no blood coming out, but Marge was obviously in great pain._

_She was shrieking in agony as the severed hand joined the flying food around the pair. Harry began to hum a macabre song tonelessly under his breath, something along the lines of dancing in a rain of flesh and gore. The Dursley family on the ceiling could only watch in horror as Harry started to dance along with his horrible song; he was emphasizing each verse with a cleaving chop that severed another piece of Marge from the rest of her body._

_After what seemed to be an eternity, the insane boy was spinning madly in place, arms flinging about and cleaver dancing in his right hand. There was nothing left that could be identified of Marge; her entire body had been reduced to small, bite-sized chunks that flew around the spinning boy. The pieces would fling droplets of blood everywhere, drenching both the Dursley's and Harry himself._

_The mask had fully formed, covering the lower half of the boy's face and a good portion of his chest and upper back. It was comprised of interlocking plates of bone and the mouth had a full set of two inch long teeth. At first, they believed it to be an unmoving mask; but they were soon proven wrong._

_Harry suddenly sank to his knees; the teeth separated and he let out an insane laugh that spoke of savage joy and unrelenting bloodlust. He turned his attention to them as his maniacal laughter quieted into a dark, foreboding chuckle._

_Marge was just the appetizer; they were the main course._

* * *

><p><em>Ok, that's what I have so far. If you hadn't guessed, I gave Harry a variation of Tia Harribel's mask (the female Third Espada). I always thought it was an awesome design and had so much potential when used as a base for other, different <em>_**Resurreccions**__…_

_Yes, Harry finally went ballistic in a seemingly unrealistic way; but to me, he needed the slaughter. In my defense, if a group of people abused and tormented you for the entirety of your young life, you'd have a greatly skewed sense of justice. My own sense of justice is largely influenced by who pissed me off. If they spilled a drink on me, I'd do the same to them. If they punched me, I'd reciprocate. But if they involved my family, like say my younger sister. They pick on her, I torment them. They hit her, I __**break**__ them. They do anything worse; they die; pure and simple._

_Family is important; society can fuck itself…_


	6. Honor of the Hunt

_This is an AU Naruto that crosses over with Alien Vs Predator. Naruto will be a lot smarter than your average six year old due to the large amount of energy always running through him. He will have a naturally heightened sense of hearing, taste, sight, and smell; his sense of touch is hindered however, thanks to the very energy that blessed him._

_His sense of touch is near burned out along with his ability to 'feel' his chakra running through his coils due to the sealing of the Kyuubi; the burning chakra darn near incinerated his nerve sensors and his ability to 'feel' his chakra._

_Anyways, Naruto will have an enormous threshold for pain and an exceptional regeneration factor. And regeneration is not the same as healing! Healing is the growth of new cells while regeneration is the exact duplication of the original cells. Healing can cause premature aging and scarring; Regeneration __**replaces**__ what was lost with the exact same thing, leaving little to no scarring. It all depends on the degree of damage._

_Naruto will have to literally destroy his muscle tissue to develop his musculature in order to get stronger. That means he has to repeatedly rip and rend his muscles to make his regenerative ability replace his old muscles with newer, stronger muscles instead of older, weaker muscles._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Honor of the Hunt - Preview<strong>_

'There it is!'

A purple haired woman whirled around, scanning the surrounding trees for the origin of the strange sound. It was an alien sound; almost like a cat's purr, only with a more insect-like quality.

_*whoooosh*_

Anko threw herself against the trunk of the tree in which she stood. She fearfully scanned the branches around her, trying to find the creature moving around in the treetops. She could hear the faint rustling of the leaves and the swishing of the branches in the wind; but the most troubling part was the complete lack of wildlife. She couldn't hear the chirping of the birds or the near-silent growls of the predators of the Forest of Death.

Beads of sweat ran down her neck as her eyes frantically searched for the _thing_ that had been hunting anyone who set foot in the training ground. It didn't matter who was sent in; squads of Chunin, jounin, and even ANBU were hunted down like animals and found mutilated in the trees. She found the corpses in various states of desecration. Some were without skin and drained of blood; her comrades' heads were nowhere to be found. Many others were found with their hearts ripped out and heads caved in at the temple. She shivered at the memory of one corpse in particular.

It had been the body of the former ANBU commander, designated as Gecko. He was the best stealth specialist the village had since Orochimaru; there were rumors that he could enter the most secure facilities in the Elemental Countries with minor effort. He had been just that good.

But when more teams started disappearing from the forest, Gecko went in to investigate. Anko remembered the briefing with the Hokage. She gave Gecko everything she knew about the Forest and the mysterious hunter within. Gecko had been at his best when he went in; he was confident that he'd at least gain a glimpse of the hunter and escape. She remembered the agonizing seconds that passed as she waited alongside the Hokage and a whole platoon of the village's finest shinobi. Gecko was in constant radio contact with the Hokage as he progressed through the Forest of Death. It had taken almost an hour before the ANBU Commander realized that he was being hunted since he entered the forest.

All they heard was a 'schlink' and Gecko's last gurgling breath before the radio went dead. The Hokage had since then forbidden all from even stepping anywhere within five miles of Training Ground 44 on pain of dishonorable discharge and lifelong house arrest.

Anko lasted all of three months before she bolted into the familiar dense jungle that was her one sanctuary in a village of treacherous whispers and ice-cold glares. Now she was frightened and alone in the one truly horrifying and deadliest patch of woodland on the entire continent.

* * *

><p><em>*Whoooosh…thud*<em>

Anko's attention jerked to the tip of the gigantic branch she stood on. Something big just landed not ten feet in front of her. She shook in utter fear as she watched the distorted silhouette walked calmly towards her. Suddenly, its eyes were revealed as they flashed red and Anko panicked. She threw her last kunai at the camouflaged being.

The weapon struck against the creature with a tiny 'chink' and fell to the forest floor a hundred feet below. The creature's camouflage slowly faded away in sections like Toad Hermit's Transparency Jutsu, revealing an awe-inspiring sight.

Before her stood a man-like creature over eight feet tall; it had a moldy-swamp green tint to its skin and strange vine-like dreadlocks for hair. The creature had an entire bodysuit made mesh and protected its modesty with a simple brown loincloth. Her eyes wandered as she took in the armor the creature wore.

It wore sections of silver armor; there were shin guards connected to a set of braided, leather-like sandals. The torso was protected by a breastplate that extended down to the armored belt holding its loincloth in place. The buckle had a strange insignia; there was a mark similar to a kanji with a short dash across the top and a longer dash going downwards from the right tip of the first dash. It looked like a stylized 'T' from across the Western Sea.

The Shoulder pads seemed to be layered scales in appearance and the forearms had wristblades that were currently retracted. The blades were jagged like lightning and she knew from a few near-misses that they were over a foot and a half long when extended.

The face was obscured by a silver mask with a sloping forehead and curved in cheeks. The eyes were covered with a dark-red glass that would flash bright red every-so often. The same strange insignia was etched into the mask in the middle of its brow.

Anko tried to find a way to escape when the creature grabbed her by her collar and lifted her with one arm. It made the insect-like purr again as it cocked its head from side to side; it was examining her closely, touching her entire body with its free hand. Shuddering from the almost moist feel of the creature's skin, she managed to free herself from its grasp with an unsurprisingly ineffective **Hidden Snake Shadow Hand Jutsu**. Anko leapt down to the forest floor and bolted to the perimeter fence.

Huffing loudly, she ducked and weaved through the underbrush even as she heard the sound of the creature pursue her. Anko instinctively ducked as the whizzing of an airborne disk reached her ears. Up ahead, she watched as the spinning disk cut clean through a tree twelve feet thick at the trunk like it was made of rice paper; the disk whirled around and she knew that it had returned back to the creature.

Anko almost shouted with joy when she burst out of the forest and leapt over the enclosing fence; she was free and safe.

* * *

><p><em>Five hours later<em>

Anko found herself in front of the Hokage and his two advisors, Elders Homura and Mitokado. She had been found by the ANBU patrolling the perimeter fence and was taken directly to the T&I Department (Torture and Investigation) of ANBU. After a five hour long dressing down from her boss, Ibiki Morino, she was taken to the Hokage Tower for sentencing.

"What were you thinking Anko!" the Hokage scolded the purple haired snake mistress. The two Elders looked upon the now-former special jounin in disappointment. They actually had high hopes that she would eventually regain her honor and take her place as the new Snake Lord (or in her case, Lady) of Konoha. Now thanks her insubordination and near death, her career as a kunoichi was over.

"I specifically ordered everyone…EVERYONE from stepping even a foot near that accursed forest!" the Third near-shouted at Anko. "You could have died Anko!"

"I'm sorry Lord Hokage…" she muttered. Elder Homura whispered something to the Third; he nodded in understanding.

"If there is anything you have to say, I will lighten your sentencing." His two advisors nodded in agreement. If she had any beneficial information, her insubordination may be worthwhile.

"Did you manage to see what the hunter looked like?" Elder Mitokado asked curiously. If she managed to have spotted the hunter, they may be able to finally know what had been hunting their ninja.

"Yes Elder Mitokado, I did." Anko answered dutifully. She detailed her incursion into the Forest of Death, her eventual encounter with the hunter, her lengthy evasion and described its appearance in great detail to the Hokage. The Elders occasionally asked a question or two about the encounter.

"Just to be clear, this hunter had enormous strength and was capable of becoming near-invisible to almost all your senses. And your **Hidden Snake Jutsu** was useless against it?"

"Yes, the snakes latched onto him readily but he seemed to shrug off the poison," Anko said. "I'm not sure the poison even had any affect at all…" This shocked the Hokage and the Elders, even if they did not show it. Not many knew it, but Anko's **Hidden Snake Shadow Hand Jutsu** was even more poisonous than Orochimaru's own had been during his time in Konoha. At Anko's age, his version of the technique was only a weak paralysis toxin; Anko's version was capable of a powerful paralytic toxin that would slowly kill the target if left unchecked. For a creature of the size she indicated to shrug off more than a dozen snakes all injecting that poison into it and not be affected was troubling to say the least.

"Do you have any clues as to how to track the creature Anko?" Elder Homura pressed anxiously.

"Some ideas ma'am, thanks to the fact that I spent the entirety of my time in the forest trying to escape. During my evasions, I noticed that there were distortions that indicated the creature's presence. I believe that its camouflage doesn't make it invisible per say; I think that it sort of 'bends' the light around it to match the colors around it. The camouflage is fragile and can be disrupted by solid hits from a kunai or shuriken; not sure if senbon has any effect. Water can short-circuit it as well. I found that out when I took a shortcut through a waterfall."

She told them of the various ways she survived the creature and the weaknesses she found. There were the previously mentioned methods of disrupting its camouflage, using embers and coating one's self in mud to throw off its sight and the creature's morality.

It had refused to attack her when she was defenseless, such as when she slept or the times when she settled down to eat. She knew it was watching her, but it hadn't attacked her during those times.

"Very well," the Third spoke after she finished. "You will be placed under Iruka Umino as an assistant at the Academy for the period of two months. Until the end of your suspension, you will not undergo any training regiment other than to maintain your current skills and will only follow the orders of Chunin Umino and myself, unless I personally inform you otherwise. Are we clear?"

Anko nodded and was immediately dismissed to the suffocating embrace of her frightened best (and only) friend. As Kurenai babbled and scolded her in the same breaths, Anko thought back to her encounter and subsequent escape.

_Whatever that thing was, I don't ever wanna run into it again…_

_It watched me, stalked me; it hunted me like I was a fucking animal!_

_I may have escaped the forest but I know in my gut that the hunt isn't over yet…_

_After all; a smart predator is the most dangerous predator…_


	7. End of an Era, Beginning of an Age

_Chibaku Tensei…_

A small orb of black light rose into the sky from the hands of the false god; his eyes screamed despair. He watched as the very mountains in which he fought rose up and gathered around the black orb. His foe roared in defiance as it too was dragged to the center of the growing mass of earth and stone.

_**Imari…**_

A thousand beams of crimson energy lanced from the sky and obliterated the already desolate landscape. Dozens were dodged by the barest margin and their blasts buffeted him like a leaf in a maelstrom. The false god watched as his ultimate attack fully formed and began ascending into the heavens. Further and further it flew until it joined its eon older sibling in its eternal journey; he breathed a sigh in relief as his vision faded.

_His heart was thumping quieter with each beat…_

_Distant cries of a woman brought along a great sadness…_

_And the wrathful howls of a trapped god became the melody of his end…_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Countless millennia passed and Ragnarok fell upon the world. Armies of heaven and hell clashed on mortal soil for hundreds of years before the gods of light and dark grew weary of their war. The war ended when a dark god called the ancient moon down from its path and wiped out all mortal life; the destruction shattered the resolve of both sides. In defeat, they both sealed away their armies into the Beyond and fell into deep slumbers. The beast gods slept within the soil they fought upon while the mightiest gods went into the Beyond and farther, never to return.<strong>_

_**A new age arose and life began anew, the lingering miasma of energy restoring the desolate world. New beings rose from the ashes of the world; each race grew upon the influence of the lingering energy of the immortals. A race of long-eared immortals grew from the remaining armies of the light while a race of dark-skinned giants spread from the remnants of the dark legions. Beings that lived below the surface built great cities of stone; they were what remained of the few survivors of the previous age.**_

_**And humans once again walked the land due to the benevolence of a remorseful god that wished to undo the damage he had done. The race of man returned to existence from a simple afterthought of that one god.**_

_**So the new inhabitants of the reborn world spread. Wars were fought and peace reigned in a never ending cycle. Some races prospered while others began to fade. A whole civilization was wiped from the face of the world by the spawning of legions from below. The arrogance of man unleashed horrors that would become a blight upon the world.**_

_**Yet all the while the wrathful one remained within his stone prison. The millennia's that passed had soothed its rage and garnered a union between demon and host, creating a bond that graced them with peace.**_

_**The prison's seal had finally faded and the now peaceful god descended to the world as a fifth blight stirred just beneath the surface of the land…**_

_For those wondering what this is:_

_A crossover between Naruto and Dragon Age: Origins._


	8. Apple of His Eye

_It was near midnight in the Village Hidden in the Leaves; shrouded figures flickered amongst the rooftops and village walls. The shinobi of Konoha were ever vigilant to anything that would threaten their beloved home._

_At the metaphorical 'center' of the village stood the Hokage Tower, the main hub of the village's government and the office of the village's great protector and leader, the Hokage._

_The current Hokage was a man in his late 60's named Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. He was dressed in the traditional red and white trappings of his station, the Robes of Fire. Sarutobi was enjoying a brief reprieve from his eternal and futile struggle and his greatest foe…paperwork. Said reprieve was enhanced with a special, one-of-a-kind edition of Icha-Icha Paradise: Tri-annual Series. It had all the smut and Drama of the standard printings, but held illustrations and extra scenes that hid highly classified information from his student Jiraiya. Basically, he got to enjoy his smut and read his student's reports at the same time; it was a clever and highly enjoyable system._

_From what he had deciphered, Jiraiya was tailing a mysterious group of missing nin as well as scouring the land for any sign of his former pupil, Orochimaru._

_According to this report, the group was known as Akatsuki, the Red Dawn, and was mainly taking any mission that paid well. So far, there had been no immediate threats from the group worth noting. But the real threat appeared to be rumors and small signs left by Orochimaru._

_Mentioned in previous reports, the rogue Sannin has been gathering low class missing nin and orphans for unknown reasons. Jiraiya speculated that the mad man was using them as test subjects for his sick experiments and used the survivors as underlings._

_Jiraiya's spy networked found an abandoned underground base in eastern Lightning Country. They found it nearly empty except a notebook of slightly-burnt research notes pertaining to the various abilities of past Jinchuuriki and their similarities to past and present bloodline abilities. The notes went on to speculate that a small percentage of Jinchuuriki had, at one point, sired (or birthed) children that married into various ninja clans that later became bloodline clans._

_Jiraiya was warning his teacher of the possibility of Orochimaru going after Konoha's not-so-secret Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. He stated that Naruto needed to be protected and trained to identify and counter any agents Orochimaru might send after him._

_The Third put the book down and slowly massaged his temples to ward off the oncoming headache. He needed to find someone that didn't, or wouldn't, discriminate against Naruto, which was currently a very tall order to fill. Not only that, he needed someone strong enough to protect him from missing nin that Orochimaru might have enhanced in his experiments. He tiredly pulled out the dossier of the current available jounin and special jounin that stayed almost always within the village._

_He needed someone that could care for, protect, train, and most importantly, understand Naruto. That narrowed his search to a good dozen ninja in his service. He further narrowed it down by their specialties' and areas of work. Someone that was always working was not what he needed. So far, he had four prime candidates:_

_Hayate Gecko, Special Jounin, currently in a tentative relationship with Elite Jounin Yuugao Uzuki. A kenjutsu specialist that was on long-term leave to recover from a run-in with a cell of Orochimaru's experiments. He is currently suffering from hacking coughs from the numerous poisons and toxins he inhaled during the mission._

_Genma Shiranui, Special Jounin, single. He was a poison and senbon specialist that was in charge of security of Konoha's merchant district. Regularly patrols the district along with a few off-duty Chunin, making up for the loss of the Uchiha Military Police._

_Ibiki Morino, Elite Jounin, single. Ibiki was the Head of ANBU T rumors say he's a sadist, but Sarutobi knew otherwise. Specializes in mental torture and physical debilitation. Is known by few to collect plush animals._

_Anko Mitarashi, Special Jounin, single. She was the lead physical torture and interrogation expert of her generation as well as one of the village's top assassination experts. Is discriminated against by a significant percentage of older villagers and a minor percentage of shinobi due to the defection of her former sensei, Orochimaru, and her lack of coherent memory of her time as his apprentice. Specializes in poisons, assassination, and torture._

_Looking over the dossiers, the choice was obvious. While Anko seemed like an absolutely insane choice, she was the best chance Naruto had. Sighing at the knowledge that this would create an uproar with the civilian council and the hissy fit the elders would throw, Hiruzen signed the preliminary forms. He turned and glanced at the sleeping village under his protection and rule. So much had happened and so little was gained; the Third often felt as though the village was on the verge of collapse._

_Sighing, he placed the forms in a secure storage hidden with his Sensei Only Edition of Icha Icha Infinite. He would be changing the lives of two very hurt and lonely people in the morning; Kami knows he needed a good night's rest..._


	9. Petition

Sorry for this, but this is not a true update. Just me feeling the need to express my displeasure.

It has recently come to my attention that whoever it is that administrates this fine site, have suddenly become very anal and are planning to remove stories with lemons as well as stories with excessive violence. In my opinion that's one of the dumbest ideas they could come up with. I've read quite a few stories that while they may contain a lemon or two, their content isn't simply about the steamy bits. Take stories by Kenchi618, his stories are entirely plot driven and focus more on action and adventure than anything else. Hell the epic that is In Flight contains a scene that could be considered a 'lemon'. I will be damned if I lose these stories. And I hope many of my fellow authors and readers will be in similar positions address this travesty.

This is a site where people gather to write and read stories. Good ones and not so good ones. But it's all a way that we can all express ourselves. Sure it's fan fiction. But by the gods we love it and I wont stand for people putting a chain on creative ingenuity. The moment that starts happening, well, I liken it to someone pumping poison into the veins. Help save this site before that poison kills it.

forum. fanfiction topic/111772/63683250/1/#63698621

Psudocode_Samurai

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VFSNAKE

Agato the Venom Host

Jay Frost

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Blood Brandy

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Hisea Ori

The Dark Graven

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Lord Orion Salazar Black

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Kumo no Makoto

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Older than Time


	10. Ultlimate Ninja Reality

_A 'Naruto is a video game' fic inspired by Naruto the Video Game._

_There are plotholes…_

_Reviews would be appreciated…_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Reality<strong>_

**Prologue**

* * *

><p><em>Naruto ran through the handseals and charging up his chakra to summon a toad to fight against Gaara. The sand was consuming him; it had completely covered him when he cried,<em>

"_**SUMMONING JUTSU!"**_

_But before he had a chance to slam his hand against the sand, it squeezed powerfully and painfully. Naruto screwed his eyes shut and felt his bones crack and his mind went blank…_

**GAME OVER**

**Continue ****YES/NO**

Naruto opened his eyes and saw those words floating above him; the world around him was pitch-black and there was a transparent fuuma shuriken spinning under the 'GAME OVER'.

"Huh?" he asked out loud. "Where the heck am I!" He twirled around and searched for any way out. Finding nothing, Naruto sat down and pondered hard on his predicament. He was in a place with no way out, words floated midair and he was all alone. Seconds passed and Naruto screamed in frustration; he hadn't thought of any solution.

"Shoot! Iruka-sensei didn't cover anything like this at the Academy!" he sighed in frustration and walked up to the floating words. Seeing as he was stuck, he jabbed the 'YES' and was rewarded with a bright red set of words superimposed over the 'Continue'.

**NO SAVE DATA!**

**Redirecting to Main Menu…**_ and a fuuma shuriken spun at the end of the dots as everything turned white._

…

…

…

…

…

Naruto found himself in a room much like the front desk in Hokage Tower; only there were no doors other than the large double doors bearing an awesome logo. It said,

_**NARUTO!**_

_**Ultimate Ninja Reality**_

_**Press **__**Start**__** to begin **__(there was a spiraling ball of chakra larger than he was under the logo like a background)_

Naruto admired the sign for a moment, glorifying in its awesomeness and jabbed the underlined 'Start'. The logo faded and showed a list of choices for him to choose from.

_New Game_

_Load Game_ (this choice was faded and transparent)

_Options_

_Bonus Content _(this one had a marker-like streak going across it)

_Exit_

Shrugging, Naruto jabbed at 'New Game' and was taken to a new room. The room was like Iruka's class, though instead of his former classmates, in each seat sat vague outlines of different people. But to his immense surprise, Naruto saw three people exactly like him. He walked up to them and saw that they didn't do much except blink or make a certain expression. They each had a plaque stating what sort of 'Naruto' they were. In order from left to right were _Basic Naruto, Prankster Naruto_ and _Naruko_.

Each had a different expression; _Basic _had a regular smile, _Prankster_ had a devious glint in his eyes and _Naruko_ had a bubbly cheerful expression.

Naruto tapped _Basic_'s plaque and a scroll popped up and floated in front of him.

_Basic Naruto_

_Naruto is a regular Genin with near-Kage chakra reserves and an underage Academy Student's control. He has a lot of potential; just get his control up to snuff and you'll be rewarded with success._

_Ninjutsu: Genin Level_

_Transformation, Replacement, Shadow Clone, Mass Shadow Clone_

_Genjutsu: N/A_

_Taijutsu: Academy Level_

_Academy Style, Brawler Style_

_Weapons/Equipment:_

_Basic Kunai and Shuriken, Ninja Headband_

_Bloodlines: N/A_

_Special Skills: Basic Level_

_Pranking, Taunt, Whine_

That seemed pretty good. Naruto now understood what was going on, _mostly_; his life was basically a video game. Needless to say, Iruka-sensei did cover world-shattering revelations. His advice; go with it…

Shrugging off the epiphany, Naruto checked the remaining choices.

_Prankster Naruto_

_Naruto is a Academy student with rare talent, despite his lack of any bloodline. He's capable of not only infiltrating the most secure facilities in the village, he can also escape and evade most of the village elite without breaking a sweat. This Naruto can only be unlocked by completing the 'Painting the Hokage Monument' and 'Prank Kakashi' Side Quests within one try as well as scoring 1000 points on the 'Prank the Third Hokage' Mini-Game._

_Ninjutsu: Mid-Chunin Level_

_Transformation, Replacement, Clone, Shadow Clone, Paint Clone©, Sexy Jutsu, Harem Jutsu_

_Genjutsu: Genin Level_

_False Surroundings, Release_

_Taijutsu: Genin Level_

_Academy Style_

_Weapons/Equipment:_

_Practice Kunai and Shuriken, Smoke Pellets, Tripwires, Naruto's Pranking Supply Kit©_

_Bloodlines: N/A_

_Special Skills: Advanced Level_

_Pranking, Infiltration, Evasion, Blackmail, Taunt, Pickpocket, Lockpicking_

And next was,

_Naruko_

_Naruko is what Naruto could have been had he been born female. She's an Academy student of mid-level skills and grades, Jounin Level chakra reserves and Genin Level control. She's a bubbly girl who hates perverts with a passion and gains a special attack bonus when fighting an opponent who is part of the 'Pervert' Faction. Naruko can only be unlocked by achieving the 'Sexy Jutsu', 'Harem Jutsu' and 'Convince Jiraiya' Quest._

_Ninjutsu: Academy Level_

_Transformation, Replacement, Clone_

_Genjutsu: Genin Level_

_False Surroundings, Release, Distortion_

_Taijutsu: Genin Level_

_Kunoichi Academy Style_

_Weapons/Equipment:_

_Practice Kunai and Shuriken, Stolen Kunai_

_Bloodlines: N/A_

_Special Skills: Basic Level_

_Charm, Pickpocket, Taunt, Blackmail, Pout_

When he reread all the stats and such, he was unamused by their 'special skills'. They sounded ridiculous. He tried to pick _Prankster _but apparently he had yet to score 1000 on the 'Prank the Third Hokage' Mini-Game; whatever that was. Sighing he chose _Basic_ since he didn't want to be a girl.

The room faded as _Basic Naruto_ stood up; he gave the 'Nice Guy' Pose to the original who sweatdropped. They came to another room; his bedroom of all places! _Basic_ was standing between his dresser and closet with his arms limp at his sides. A line of words appeared above _Basic_.

_Weapon/Equipment and Jutsu Menu_

_Equip weapons and other equipment here prior to beginning game. Previously unlocked content can be equipped to a new __Naruto__ even if there is no save data!_

_Current unlocked content: (Bonuses listed when available)_

_Ninja Headband (Defense +1, Lets you skip the Academy Quests; renders bonus and side quests prior to 'Graduation Test' null. You will not gain the bonuses from these quests.)_

_Kunai and Shuriken (Kunai = Melee/Range Damage +5, Shuriken = Range Damage +2)_

_Fuuma Shuriken (Replaces __Shuriken__) (Range Damage +15)_

_Stolen Kunai (Melee/Range Damage +7)_

_Summoning Contract: Toads (Unlocks Gamakichi and Toad Training)_

_Sexy Jutsu (Charm +50)_

_Harem Jutsu (Charm +200)_

_Konoha Secret Taijutsu: A Thousand Years of Death (Taunt +20)_

_Shadow Clone Jutsu_

_Mass Shadow Clone_

Seeing as he had no clue what this place was, Naruto just jabbed a phrase near the bottom right that said, '_Equip All_'. All the stuff was selected and Naruto found _Basic_ jumping for joy as they were presented with another menu.

_Set Special Skills:_

_Add or remove Special Skills available for use. Some Special Skills are abilities that can alter available dialogue options; some options may open or close depending on your __Personality__ Score and the Special Skill used. Some Skills can allow you to access new moves, quests, jutsu, or companions. And other Skills are merely passive abilities that can enhance the Naruto you are using in varied ways. Equip a Skill and see the world change drastically from your last play session!_

_Previously unlocked skills can be added to a new __Naruto__._

_Current Unlocked Content_

_Whine (Basic Level Unlocked!)_

_Taunt (Advanced Level Unlocked!)_

_Charm (Advanced Level Unlocked)_

_Blackmail (Basic Level Unlocked!)_

_Pranking (Master Level Unlocked!)_

_Evasion (Master Level Unlocked!)_

_Infiltration (Master Level Unlocked!)_

_Pickpocket (Advanced Level Unlocked!)_

_Strategy (Advanced Level Unlocked!)_

_Lockpicking (Expert Level Unlocked!)_

_Inspire (Expert Level Unlocked!)_

Naruto goggled at all the stuff he could use and just selected them all; _Basic_ whooped loudly and an aura exploded around him, causing confetti to fall from nowhere. An obnoxiously bright Menu appeared as music played loudly.

_**Congratulation! You have fulfilled the requirements to Unlock 2 New **__**Naruto**__** characters! Would you like to switch to a new **__**Naruto**__**? All your previous selections will still be equipped to the new **__**Naruto**__** you may choose!**_

Naruto resisted banging his head against the wall and jabbed the flashing 'YES' on the menu. His bedroom faded to white and he reappeared in Iruka-sensei's class with the two new _Naruto_ sitting next to the previous three.

Sighing, Naruto headed over there again and read the scrolls for the new ones.

_T&I Naruto_

_Naruto had taken to hanging around Anko Mitarashi at a young age and adopted much of her personality and interests as his own. Following in his 'big sister's' footsteps, he became a Genin on his first try and was immediately assigned to the Torture and Interrogation Department of ANBU. Despite his Genin status, Naruto is considered a Special Jounin in all but name to those around him._

_This __Naruto__ can only be unlocked by achieving Expert Level in at least 3 Special Skills that affect dialogue. You must have met Anko Mitarashi in a previous play session and passed the 'Survive Orochimaru' Quest during the Chunin Exam Arc._

_Ninjutsu: Jounin Level_

_Transformation, Replacement, Clone, Shadow Clone, Snake Summoning Jutsu, Body Flicker_

_Genjutsu: Chunin Level_

_False Surroundings, Release, Distortion, Hell Viewing, Paralysis_

_Taijutsu: Chunin Level_

_Academy Style, Modified Snake Style_

_Weapons/Equipment:_

_Kunai and Shuriken, Anko's Favorite Kunai, Ninja Headband_

_Bloodline: N/A_

_Special Skills: Expert Level_

_Taunt, Infiltration, Evasion, Intimidate, Interrogate, Medical Aid, Pickpocket, Lockpicking_

And the other was interesting to say the least.

_Tech Genius Naruto_

_One day, Naruto found a piece of old technology from the First Ninja War. He tinkered with it and was fascinated by its inner workings. He soon found, bargained, and collected various other trinkets and became a technological genius and inventor. He aspires to be the Head of Research and Development of Konoha._

_This __Naruto__ can only be unlocked by random chance and is one of the 15 Bonus Naruto available._

_Ninjutsu: Chunin Level_

_Transformation, Replacement, Shadow Clone_

_Genjutsu: N/A_

_Taijutsu: Academy Level_

_Academy Style_

_Weapons/Equipment:_

_Harpoon Launcher, Naruto's Custom Goggles©, Protective Lab Gear, Kunai and Shuriken, Naruto's Custom Lab Coat©_

_Bloodline: N/A_

_Special Skills: Expert Level_

_Tech Upgrade, Tech Repair, Tech Creation, Repair Weapons/Equipment_

Sighing at the so-called new choices and the stuff he knew he would have to do again, Naruto sat on Iruka-sensei's desk and relaxed. After all, he had all the time in the world.

Glancing around the room again, he saw the five Naruto variations he had available; he silently wished he had a cooler one instead of the new ones. Don't get him wrong, he liked the _T&I Naruto_ for its awesomeness, but it didn't seem like a good choice right now. He'd probably stick with _Basic_ and see if he unlocked anything new.

A scroll popped up before him.

_Start Game_

_Start over_

_Back to Main Menu_

_Options_

Naruto smiled and jabbed 'Start Game'. The world erupted in colors and sounds; he found himself in Iruka's class again, only this one was filled with yammering new Genin.

* * *

><p>"Troublesome," a dull voice said. "I guess you managed to pass after all." Naruto turned and saw Shikamaru staring at him. The blond smirked and tapped his headband.<p>

"Yup!" he said. He walked away and sat next to the shy Hinata. "Hey Hinata! Aren't you excited to finally be a Genin?" Said girl squeaked and nodded shyly as she tried to meet Naruto's gaze.

"Y-yes N-narut-to-ku…I m-mean –san!" she whispered. Naruto was about to say something else when Ino and Sakura came barging in, screaming loudly. They were arguing about something and Iruka came in and started his speech. Eventually he came to team announcements, following the previous formations to the letter. He was once again stuck with Sasuke and Sakura.

The introductions happened exactly the same way as last time. Armed with the knowledge of his life's meaninglessness, Naruto set out to find the limitations of the Game. His first stop on the road to discovery was his apartment, his home base as it were.

The room was the same as always, a simple 10x12 room housing his bed, a small side table, a closet full of his belongings and a medium sized bookshelf filled with some new things. Naruto quickly yanked out the items he was sure weren't here the first time and spread them out over his bed. The two scrolls and small textbook were very interesting to say the least…

_Scrolls:_

'_A Comprehensive Guide to Great Chakra Control: If my idiot teammate could do it, so can you!' written by Tsunade Senju, revised by Ashitaka … (last name is scratched out…)_

'_They Say Cheaters Never Prosper; Let's Prove Them Wrong!' by Ashitaka ….._

_Book:_

_Naruto, Ultimate Ninja Reality: User's Manual_

Naruto skimmed the scrolls rapidly. He picked out a few interesting tips and exercises that he wanted to try out from the first scroll. The initial texts were typical shinobi exercises that he had already done like _Leaf Balancing, Tree-Climbing, _and_ Water-Walking_. There were also a few he hadn't heard of, like _Limb-Free Boulder Moving_ and _Needle-Point Balancing_. The text itself was dry in the main body, but the notes written in the margins by this Ashitaka-guy were funny, enlightening, and easy to understand. He felt he would accomplish a lot thanks to this scroll.

The second scroll was confusing to say the least. Naruto had opened it up and was gifted with a body of text similar to the floating screens back in the weird rooms. He didn't understand what the different options did, but guessed that they were 'cheats' for the Game itself. He noted a few interesting ones before closing the scroll up.

_Kyuubi's Gift (Infinite Chakra) - Grants the player an unlimited amount of chakra to draw upon. __**Does not affect your chakra control!**__ Activating this cheat requires __**Kyuubi Naruto, Sage Naruto,**__ or __**Ultimate Naruto**__ to be unlocked. Begets a __**-75**__ point penalty for every arc completed while this cheat is active._

_False Sharingan (Instant Copy and Master) – Lets the player instantly master any __**jutsu**__and __**skill**__ upon observation. __**Limited by Chakra Control**__. Activating this cheat requires __**Sharingan Naruto**__ or __**Uchiha Naruto **__to be unlocked. Begets a __**-20**__ point penalty for every jutsu learned and mastered thanks to this cheat._

_Dragon's Skin (Near Invulnerability) __**Unlocked! **__– Grants the player near invulnerability. Player can only be affected by certain status changers and health damagers. Activating this cheat begets a __**-200**__ point loss for every arc completed when this cheat was active. Can only be unlocked by achieving the Bonus 'I-Took-A-Super-Kick-To-The-Balls-From-Tsunade-And-Survived!' Quest._

_Hero's Blessing (Accelerated Regeneration Factor) __**Unlocked! **__– Grants player high-speed regeneration. Player can suffer even the most fatal of injuries and come back for more. Activating this cheat begets a __**-5 **__point loss every week this is active. Can only be unlocked by gaining the title of 'HERO' during any quest._

_Lady Luck's Favor (1000 point bonus to Luck!) __**Unlocked/Activated!**__ – Grants the player the max amount of luck available. Player automatically wins any __**Bet, Wager, Contest,**__ and __**Challenge**__. Begets __**0 **__point loss, but costs __**-500**__ from player's final score. Does not inflict the __**CHEATER!**__ Status to player. Can only be unlocked by completing the 'Survive Sealing' and 'Survive Childhood' Main Quests._

Naruto smirked at the stuff he had unlocked and vowed to only use _Dragon's Skin_ and _Hero's Blessing_ at the most direst of emergencies. Using _Lady Luck's Favor_ was a complete no-brainer. He finally picked up the game manual and settled down to read the whole thing. Even if his entire world was game, he would save every precious person; BELIEVE IT!


	11. God's Disciples 1

_This story is a Naruto AU that crosses over with several different anime, comics, TV shows, and movies. I'll make a list in a few chapters. Just know that I will be taking several liberties with the different genres and series. And making Team 7 utterly kick-ass and insane along the way._

_Worlds they __will__ visit after the First Arc, not sure what order though:_

_Marvel Universe – Avengers and X-men mainly_

_DC Universe – Choosing between Justice League, Gotham City, and Jump City_

_Dragon Age Universe – Origins and its expansions_

_Bleach Universe – No Bount Arc, will include Memories of a Nobody and Sealed Sword Frenzy_

_Harry Potter Universe – AU from Book 4 onwards_

_Here is list of the major elements of this story:_

_-NO PAIRINGS…as of yet. There will be some implied stuff though._

_-Godly Team 7. Yes I mean __**godly**__ Team 7. No real betrayals, no in-squad romances, and no Kakashi after…Chapter 4?_

_-No Sakura or Sasuke bashing. Teasing is present._

_-Slight…partial…some Kakashi bashing. Emphasizes his incompetence as a teacher…mostly._

_-There will be OCs. Mainly Team 7's new sensei._

_-Each member will be powerful in their own way. Think of their strengths as a varying game of rock-paper-scissors. Sasuke beats Sakura, Sakura beats Naruto, Naruto beats Sasuke…_

_-I will take suggestions for powers/weapons/bloodlines/crossover elements/etc. Be warned that just because I make a poll on something, doesn't mean I will definitely choose the winner. It just means that the winning choice gets first consideration during my brainstorming sessions._

_-Starts just after Tsunade becomes Hokage. More specifically between the Mission to Snow and Sasuke's Defection._

_-Sasuke will not betray Konoha…the whole squad does…technically…_

_On with my story…_

* * *

><p><em><strong>God's Disciples<strong>_

_**Chapter 1 – Newton Eat Your Heart Out**_

* * *

><p>It was a beautiful day in Konoha. The birds were chirping, the bees were buzzing, and Team 7 was waiting for Kakashi to show up for their team meeting…<em>for the past three hours<em>.

"WHERE THE HELL IS KAKASHI!"

That was the voice of our favorite orange-wearing, ramen-loving, loud mouth blonde, if you hadn't already guessed. And as a well read fan of the series knows, Team 7 is waiting for their cycloptic, perpetually late _jounin-sensei_ (elite ninja teacher/mentor/squad leader) at the red bridge near Training Ground 7. Naruto was impatiently pacing the length of the bridge while Sakura ranted quietly about Kakashi's bad habits. And Sasuke contemplated on adding Kakashi to his list…of people to declare vengeance against…yes he does have a list. It currently has 5 people on it.

Here they are in descending order of importance:

_Itachi Uchiha_

_Itachi Uchiha_

_Juro Tannei (He sold Sasuke an over-ripe tomato last week)_

_Keisuke Amasuke (Bumped Naruto, causing the INCIDENT)_

_Itachi Uchiha_

Notice that his list starts with Itachi and ends with Itachi. It's good to see that he has his priorities straight.

Anyways, Team 7 was waiting for Kakashi, _as always_, when a strange and completely out-of-this-world-thing happened.

"Wanna go get some ramen? I'll buy…"

That one sentence caused nearly every living creature in the immediate vicinity to go into epileptic shock due to the origin of the request. I'll give three hints:

It wasn't Naruto.

It was male.

It wasn't Naruto.

_It was Sasuke…_

Yes, the Uchiha brooder of vengeance asked if his teammates wanted ramen. They were in fact too shocked to deny his request and followed behind him as they made their way to Ichiraku Ramen. They ate much ramen, had pleasant conversations, and bonded like a team. They stayed at the ramen stand for hours before eventually going their separate ways, ready to rest until the next day.

_Kakashi was left wondering where they were and spent the whole day searching for them at the bookstore… There was a sale on Icha Icha-themed merchandise with a 50% discount on platinum members of the Icha Icha Lovers United._

_It was a good day for _Team_ 7 after all…_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Next Day…<strong>_

_Team 7, in the wake of their team-bonding from yesterday, had an epiphany. They didn't actually need Kakashi to get any missions for them. They could go by themselves since they met the pre-requisites of solo-team missions. That being that they have completed at least 30 D-ranks, a C-rank or higher, and deemed by their jounin-sensei adequately trained. Since Kakashi entered them into the Chunin Exams, they were definitely considered 'adequately trained'…_

Kakashi stood at the bridge, actually early for the meeting of his squad. Unfortunately for him, the preteens were on the other side of the village, assisting Team Gai to clear out some rubble from the Sand-Sound Invasion a few weeks prior.

Anyways, Kakashi waited for Team 7 to show up. He had arrived bright and early at seven o'clock…_five hours ago…_

He was lazing depressingly against the railings of the bridge when his team shows up at lunch time, carrying takeout from Moritake's (the most well-known buffet in town). He glowered at his nonplussed students as he took in their smug expressions.

"Well, if it isn't my cute little students," Kakashi said, deceptively playful. "Now what have you three been up to, hmm?" The three shrugged nonchalantly, muttering about D-ranks and Team Gai; Kakashi just eye-smiled.

_10:00 pm…_

Kakashi hadn't been amused and drilled the team into the ground with teamwork exercises and chakra control. He, on the other hand, was reading his favorite book, _Icha Icha Paradise Vol. 3 Limited Edition (Twice the smut, half the plot!)_. So the team was exhausted and literally dragged themselves into the bushes to rest. They ended up sleeping there all night; on a positive note, they huddled together for warmth in a sappy, childish manner. On a negative note, Sasuke and Naruto would awaken to find that Sakura was very grabby in her sleep, as well as having a very _firm_ grip; and on a very creepy note, she also had wandering hands.

The trio had awoken the next morning when an apple fell from the sky and hit Sakura's somewhat large forehead, causing her to squeeze whatever she had her hands on out of reflex. Needless to say, there were two high-pitched girly shrieks coming from Training Ground 7. The boys curled protectively and painfully around their damaged jewels while Sakura rubbed her knotted forehead. She grabbed the offending fruit and savagely devoured it in vengeance. She had a stray thought:

_Where did the apple come from? After all, there aren't any apple trees on this side of the village…_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Anyways, it's now time for the real story to begin…<strong>_


	12. God's Disciples 2

_**God's Disciples**_

_The trio had awoke the next morning when an apple fell from the sky and hit Sakura's somewhat large forehead, causing her to squeeze whatever she had her hands on out of reflex. Needless to say, there were two high-pitched girly shrieks coming from Training Ground 7. The boys curled protectively and painfully around their damaged jewels while Sakura rubbed her knotted forehead. She grabbed the offending fruit and savagely devoured it in vengeance. She had a stray thought:_

'_Where did the apple come from? After all, there aren't any apple trees on this side of the village…'_

_**Chapter 2 – You're Fired!**_

* * *

><p><em>A long time ago, in a world far from this; there was a deceptively young man in black leaning against an enormous apple tree. Said man was nondescript as could be; the man had dark hair tinged black and a pair of mischievous brown eyes. He had a slight curve at the lips that would switch between a tiny smirk and a small smile at a moment's notice. Over a sleeveless shirt, he wore a draping cloth that hung like robes over his lean frame; the partial robes had no sleeves or sides. They seemed to be a single cloth he wore like a cloak. On his legs he wore dark pants that were tucked into a pair of scuffed black boots and had a long gnarled wood staff propped up against him.<em>

_The man was relaxing in the cool shade as he watched the world around him. Many would expect him to be watching a vast plain of grass and trees or a sparkling sea; it was actually something even greater._

_He was watching an endless stream of stars that made up the Lifestream of the universe. He could see the death and birth of every living thing in existence; each one as precious as the next. The man watched as worlds prospered and grew. He watched as galaxies began and ended. The man watched eternity and beyond._

_This had gone on for eternity upon eternity; you have to understand that everyone gets bored at the most random of times. This man was no different. So, like any extremely bored and endlessly powerful being, he decided to do something fun. He took an 'apple' from the tree and hurled it into the Lifestream. He decided to go wherever it landed and see what happened from there…_

_A good three millennia later, he heard the telltale thud of his 'apple' landing in another dimension. Using his staff, he pulled himself to his feet and ventured over to the 'edge' of his little island in the Lifestream. The man gazed through the river of stars and found his apple in a quaint little world. A little pink-haired girl was devouring it._

"_**Hmm,"**__ he muttered. __**"Little girl plus Fruit of Eternity…interesting…"**__ He plucked two more apples from the 'tree' and leapt into the Lifestream, rocketing toward the little girl and her two friends. Looks like he found something to take up his time…_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Back with Team 7…<strong>_

The three kids were wandering through Konoha; Sakura was happily munching on what must have been the most delicious apple in existence. Naruto and Sasuke were stumbling after her, clutching at their crotches; Sakura had a really powerful grip…

"Well, well," Kakashi said as he took a seat next to the three kids at a teriyaki stand. "Ready for a day full of missions and training?" The boys groaned as their heads dropped onto the wooden counter. Sakura nodded while happily munching on her apple. Team 7 followed Kakashi over to the Hokage Tower, where they found Iruka and Lady Tsunade talking with a man in black. Both seemed very surprised and worried

"Ah, Team 7; just the genin we were looking for," stated Iruka as the squad entered the Mission Room. After a brief greeting between the genin and Tsunade, Iruka introduced the black-clad man. "This is Ashitaka. He's a very well-travelled shinobi searching for students to pass on his knowledge. As it happens, you three fit the criteria for his ideal students."

The squad looked skeptical as Ashitaka gave them a small wave. Kakashi decided to speak up.

"Lady Tsunade, forgive my impertinence, but Team 7 are my students; I've put too much effort into them to just hand them over to some stranger that just popped up out of nowhere…" Tsunade nodded in faux understanding.

"I would agree with you Kakashi, if it wasn't for the reports I've received."

Kakashi's lone eye widened. 'Reports?'

"You see Kakashi," she began. "I've been reading over your mission reports and training updates, and cross-referenced them with other intel from my ANBU teams. I've found that you've been falsifying data on the skill sets of both Naruto and Sakura. While I do commend you on Sasuke's overall skill level, you've been holding back on us, haven't you?" The three genin glanced at their sweating sensei, which was on the receiving end of Tsunade and Iruka's glares.

"Umm…I can explain!" Kakashi sputtered in panic. Tsunade slammed her hands on the desk to silence him.

"I want no explanations Kakashi!" she growled out. He stumbled back in fear while Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura watched on, stunned. "You've deliberately hindered the progress of two of your students while overestimating the value of a third! I can understand over-training the Uchiha to satisfy the civilian council, but completely ignoring your other students?" She got up and threw a scroll at him. He caught it and found orders for reassignment.

"You've been reassigned! Ashitaka will take over as sensei to Team 7 from this moment on!" She sat back down and still saw Kakashi standing there. "You are dismissed, CHUNIN!" Kakashi recoiled in shock and stumbled out of the room.

Team 7 was stunned at the sudden dismissal of Kakashi, but turned back to Tsunade and Ashitaka. "What now?" Naruto asked. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at their new sensei and the Hokage.

"Ashitaka," Tsunade barked at the black-clad ninja. "Get those genin trained up and ready for missions by the end of this month. Dismissed!" Ashitaka nodded frantically and dragged the three stunned genin out of the office as fast as he could.

Tsunade slumped onto her desk as Iruka gathered up the remaining paperwork. She glanced up at him and asked, "Did I do the right thing?"

Iruka nodded and said, "Lady Tsunade, was that an easy decision to make?" She shook her head. "Then it was likely the right choice." He shuffled the paperwork into his arms and left. Tsunade pulled out a bottle of sake and chugged it down in a single gulp.

"I hope I won't regret this…" she swiveled her chair around to gaze at the village. "When a ninja that much power pops up out of nowhere and basically holds the entire village hostage, there's not much I can do… Especially when he wants to train three genin to be his successors…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Flash forward to Training Ground 7…<strong>_

Ashitaka eventually came to a stop right at the Hero's Memorial and dropped his three new students onto the grass. He dropped right next to them and spoke.

"All right, since you three know each other but don't know me, I'll start off the introductions." He sat up and grabbed his staff, placing it across his lap. "I'm Ashitaka, a ninja with no village to begin with. I'm pretty sure I'm twenty-four, but don't quote me on that… Anyways, I specialize in all three fields of jutsu as well as weapon use and sealing techniques. I aspire to create a team of unstoppable ninja that will ascend beyond the limits of human comprehension." He smiled at the three dumbfounded genin. "Now it's your turn blondie!"

Naruto sighed and told them his intro.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, a genin of Konoha. I like ramen, the Ichiraku family, Granny Tsunade, Pervy Sage, and training. I hate Prevy Sage's 'research' and the three minutes it takes to cook ramen. I wanna be Hokage and protect all my precious people." Sasuke went next, since Ashitaka was staring pointedly at him.

"Fine; I'm Sasuke Uchiha, genin of Konoha. I don't particularly like much, but dislike a great deal of things. My ambition is to kill Itachi Uchiha and restore my clan…" He sighed as their sensei stared at him like he was a complete idiot. Sasuke gestured for Sakura to go next.

"Ok, Sakura Haruno, genin of Konoha. I like spending time with my team and hated it when Kakashi was late. I want to be a kunoichi strong enough to stand beside my two teammates." The boys stared at her in surprise while Ashitaka nodded proudly.

"Ok, intros are over; let's get to training!" he said as he hopped to his feet. The three followed suit and they started on their journey as a new team.

* * *

><p><em>Yes, Ashitaka was the guy from the Lifestream and he basically told Tsunade that he would wipe the village off the map, if she didn't give him three genin to train; Team 7 to be exact.<em>

_And she knew he could do it, just by the seriously insane gleam in his eyes._

_By the way, sorry if these first few chapters seem a bit rushed. I just wanna get them out of the way so I can get the team up to kick-ass levels so they can get on with their real adventures._


	13. A Borrower's Life - OTT Style!

_I just saw '__**The Secret World of Arrietty'**__ last Monday and was inspired by it. Studio Ghibli is the crack for my addict muse Inspiration._

_The ideas won't go away. I see a world that has a slew of possibilities having nothing to do with Tamriel, the ME-verse or the Naruto-verse. It's gotten so bad that I fell asleep on Thursday and __dreamed__ about the world of the Borrowers…_

_I have a few deviations from Arrietty's world, such as special abilities displayed by certain Borrowers. Time will tell if I'll actually make this into a full story._

_So without further ado, I welcome you to take a small look into the life of a Borrower; tweaked by me. Just remember to think like a Borrower._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Older than Time presents…<strong>_

_**A look into a world hidden within our own.**_

_**Watch as a young woman sets out on a journey across a land filled with danger.**_

_**Watch as she ventures out into the world of Man,**_

_**Watch as she takes her first steps into the life…**_

_**As a Borrower.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Step lightly; it's a big world out there!<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Drip…<em>

_Sploosh!_

Leah squealed in surprise as she was drenched head-to-toe. Looking up, she glared as the now empty leaf she had nudged. Leah sighed, resigned to the fact that the day was probably gonna get worse before it would get better. And yet, she couldn't help but put some extra energy in her next steps; optimism was one of the core lessons her parents hammered into her head. After all, a new life was ahead of her and nothing would stop her now!

One foot stamped onto the drying dirt after another as Leah marched through the _Grass Glade Forest_ (as her family had called it for generations). It had only been less than three hours since the young Borrower girl had left the family home to set out her own for her first Journey.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A Journey was an essential part of Borrower life; the great first step into adulthood. A Borrower can't truly be a Borrower without first going on a Journey. A young manwoman, on the morning of their sixteenth birthday, would leave home and head towards a certain cardinal direction, be it North, South, East or West. They would travel for exactly seven days and nights; or until they reach a human home at least one day's travel from their parents' chosen settlement.**_

_**They would then live as a solitary Borrower in that home for at least seven months before traveling to the estimated halfway point between their chosen home and their parents' chosen settlement. This place is known as their Crossroad.**_

_**The Crossroad is a symbolic point in their Journey. This place represents the major turning point in a young Borrower's life. From this point, they will decide whether or not they wish to return to their birthplace or go back to their chosen settlement. Or take another Journey to another, more desirable place they may know of or believe to be. Whatever they decide, it will likely become their future.**_

_**There are other major points in a Borrower's life, but that's a story for another time.**_

* * *

><p>Going back to Leah, the new traveler decided to take a break near <em>Rushing Waters<em>.

Looking into a small puddle, Leah was reminded of her home as she gazed upon herself. A pale girl just under three inches, Leah had waist length raven-colored hair and warm brown eyes. She wore a homemade long sleeved brown dress that reached her knees over a pair of snug green pants. Brown calf length boots covered her feet and a light brown carry sack hung from her back. Shaking away thoughts of home, she propped herself against a moss-covered rock and gazed at the passing clouds.

The day was still young; the sun had yet to peak above the horizon. Leah sighed; soon she would pass the Great Tree, a forty foot tall oak that stood at the edge of the humans' property. It marked the farthest point she had ever traveled before. From there she would have to somehow cross the _Black Expanse_, dodging the humans' metal beasts and surviving its scorching heat. After that was the _Eternal Cliffs_, an endless wall of stone that she had to get over before she could truly be away from her home.

It would be a long journey before her Journey could truly begin…

The sun was setting as Leah lay on the cool earth, gasping for air as she rested in the cool shade of a rose bush. She had made good time and had crossed the Black Expanse before the sun had reached its zenith. None of the humans' metal beasts had been charging across the _Expanse_; to her immense relief. And the _Eternal Cliffs_ had been almost too easy to scale; a patch of roots had cracked through the stone wall, giving her many handholds to grasp. The only trouble had come from a human traveling past, leading a huge slobbering beast, one that her father had called a 'dog'. He warned her to beware them; many Borrowers had been eaten by the monsters.

_**The dog stopped, sniffing curiously at the small person smelling of lavender and dusty houses. The tiny person froze before running into the grass. The dog gave chase; it loved this game! Sadly the tiny person ran into a pokey-nice smell bush. He barked piteously, wanting to play more but his human pulled him away. Hopefully the tiny person would play again tomorrow…**_

Leah had ran full pelt into the nearby grass forest, the monster's baying roar sending chills down her spine. She barely managed to get away by diving into this thorny rose bush. The human had dragged its monster back, unknowingly saving her life. Leah decided to stay in the rose bush for the night; hopefully the next day would be as easy(ish) as this one was…

The sun was high as Leah walked across the muddy path in the grassy forest. She'd been travelling for the past three days, leaving her four days into her Journey. She only had three days left to find a home for the next seven months of the fall and winter seasons. She didn't exactly know what she'd do is she didn't find a human home within the next three days. Supposedly, if a Borrower didn't find a home by the end of the seven days, they'd have to set up a home on the spot they came to at the end of the seventh night and try to survive the seven months. She never heard of or met someone who managed that feat; she also hoped it wouldn't happen to her…

_**Gasping in fright, Leah hid under the overhang of a large rock; she was hidden by the dense grass around her. High above her was a flying animal, a brown sparrow if she was right. It had swooped down and snagged her pack, nearly taking her into the sky. She managed to slip out of the strap at the last moment and tumbled into the grass below. Beneath the tall blades, Leah ran to the shelter of the large rock and huddled in fear. Hopefully it would leave soon.**_

Leah nearly broke down in tears as she fell to her knees. It was day seven of her journey almost dark and she hadn't come to a human home or settlement or anything! She kneeled before a rocky cliff a great many feet high overlooking a sandy desert bordering an endless expanse of roaring waves. The heat of the day had been terrible, leaving her dreadfully parched and hungry. Leah wondered what she would do now; she had no food, water and most likely no shelter for the night.

Leah managed to find shelter under a large piece of wood, the sand cool in its shade. All around her the sounds of the waves and the crying of birds filled the air. Nothing her parents taught her could help her; at least, none of the lessons she could remember were helpful. Sighing, the young Borrower fell into a fitful sleep.

Leah jerked awake; the sand crunched as someone, or something, was walking towards her wood shelter. Pressing back against the wood wall behind her, Leah held a long wood twig like a spear close to her. She would be ready for whatever appeared…or so she hoped.

_**A young Borrower wearing a white cloak and gray shorts walked towards the weather-beaten log, following the sound of someone crying. Peaking around the opening, he was rewarded with a hefty whack to the head and the sound of someone running away. Groaning as he got to his feet, he saw the person he tried to help. A young girl, probably on her Journey, was running haphazardly across the sand. Shaking his head, the cloaked Borrower called out to the girl.**_

_**She turned her head to look at him as she ran, but tripped across the sand; she smacked her head into a hidden shell and knocked herself out. He sighed and signaled to the sky as he walked to her prone form. A strange bird, one with an almost bone-like mask over its head and a saddle of sorts on its back landed beside them. Hoisting her onto the masked bird, the two lifted off into the sky…**_


End file.
